Estelle, a junior at UChicago, shares how she was able to craft an impressive college application despite her dyslexia that affected her standardized testing abilities.
Transcription
Estelle
But yeah, it was completely new. I showed up for my first day of pre orientation and without against without knowing, I was asked out by the son of a very famous celebrity, and I just didn’t know.
Kamila
Hey, college kids, welcome back to my podcast who cares about college? In today’s episode, I’ll be interviewing Estelle. So if you could introduce yourself.
Estelle
Yeah, of course. My name is Estelle Reardon and I’m from a tiny, four square mile town in Maine called Ogunquit. I’m at the University of Chicago. Now I’m a junior double majoring in economics and creative writing. I’m also in a program where I take classes at Booth School Business. And that’s that’s me.
Kamila
So we have to start with the like very, very basics. You know, maybe even before high school, what expectations were put on you by anybody, your yourself, family, friends, what expectations were put on you in terms of education, were you always expected to be high achiever were you expected to go to a top school. So what was like the dynamic that are growing up?
Estelle
Yeah, so I have dyslexia and ADHD. So I started out in kind of the special health program of my school, my parents ever really expected anything from me. But at the same time, I was reading above my level, and I ended up in the gifted program for that. So it was always kind of an in between place where I thought I could do more, and I wanted to do more. I was also bullied a bit when I was young for being in a special health program. And I guess I kind of had a chip on my shoulder because of that, and kind of work really hard until I got to the point where I could be bullied for being smart.
Kamila
And having dyslexia and ADHD, how did that affect your performance in school. Um,
Estelle
I found a lot of different ways of studying a lot of different ways of doing things. And I feel like it was almost an advantage, like I have very mild dyslexia. And like, once I got to high school, I feel like it was almost an advantage is that I taught myself different ways of doing things and different ways of looking at problems. But when it came to standardized tests, it was a disaster. Like I took the LSAT like 15 times, almost never finished it switch, the AC T took it a bunch of times, and it was really depressing and difficult to deal with. We couldn’t petition the College Board for extra time, because it would take too much money and too much time. And we were just kind of behind the curve on that.
Kamila
So but in terms of like, Let’s go for GPA, and then we can talk about your standardized testing. So in terms of GPA, like all of it, did you take any of those advanced APS IB honors classes, you know, throughout high school? And then what did your GPA end up being in the end, both unweighted and weighted?
Estelle
Yeah. So I took every AP that I had available to me and ended up with nine in the end. I can’t remember which ones exactly, but I did like AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Bio, AP, Euro, AP Lang AP, like all of like the bread and butter, you know, that was like the only honors thing and I graduated with a 4.0. And I was the valedictorian. I don’t know what it was unweighted, I think it was like a 99.8 was very,
Kamila
very, very impressive there. And with your AP test was also the same as your other standardized tests as well. Did you struggle with them? Um,
Estelle
I’d say I struggled a bit less well, actually. So it really depends on the day for me if that makes any sense with the AP test, like with the AP Physics test, it was a really noisy background, and I couldn’t get past the first question. I couldn’t get my brain to work. I like flunked it. Whereas would be a year at a test. Like I love that stuff. And I was in a good environment, and I got a five. So I’d say the standardized tests are harder because like with dyslexia, ADHD, like I flunked out of kindergarten. So I didn’t really learn my multiplication facts. And I was really learning my multiplication facts like for the PSAT and I’d say that that was one of the biggest clinchers with the time.
Kamila
And before we go on to LSAT, a CT, did you have an idea going into high school, what you wanted to do in the future, like did you have an idea what you wanted to major in when you go to college?
Estelle
Yeah, so my mother is an immigrant and with that came like doctor or lawyer, and I really wanted to make my parents proud. So I really thought Doctor lawyer. But then I was very lucky in high school. I did an internship every summer like I did hundreds of hours of research, but I really kind of fought to find something because I really thought that I needed everything I possibly could to offset my bad standardized testing. And I did a few internships in medicine, one at Maine Medical Research Center, one, through the NASA main merits program at the University of Southern Maine, realized that I didn’t really like medical research also dissected a fetal pig. Never again, so bad. I still have nightmares. Like, I was eating tuna for lunch that day. And I haven’t touched a tuna sandwich since I think. But and then I also through a family connection I like called everyone who my aunts and uncles knew and ended up working for a very small law firm in Boston, I learned that I also don’t like the law, because it’s so many rules. There’s no room for creativity. So I was able to figure out before going to college that I didn’t want either of those fields, which is I’m so grateful for because otherwise I’d be studying for the LSAT right now. Yeah,
Kamila
I definitely want to get into your internships later. Because I did see on like the site, you mentioned them as well. But let’s go to sa TCT first. Yeah, tell me like the entire journey from the beginning. When did you start preparing the preparation for it taking it? You did take it multiple times? And then what was the end result?
Estelle
Yeah, I think I started in sophomore year. First time I took it, I got I think like a 1400 flat PSAT, which is like outside the range of the top schools that I was looking at. And I never really did any better on PSAT. Even though I used prep scholar and I studied, like for an hour every day in the summer, like I really went hard studying. And then I switched the AC T which ended up doing better on because of the calculators. And I the first time I took it, I think I got like a 26. And then I gradually, like figured out the science section and ended up with a 30 in the end.
Kamila
And which score did you submit to the schools that you’re applying to? So I only applied
Estelle
ed to the University of Chicago, and I submitted because they super score the AC T. I ended up like being able to apply with a 31 to Chicago. Yeah,
Kamila
I was actually this great. And of course at score 31 Or like a 1400s? Not low. But when it comes to top schools, yeah, you need to basically be perfect. So with those scores, just curious. Did anybody like your counselor, your teachers? Did they ever say like, oh, you probably won’t get into these schools. Was there anybody that was discouraging and saying, like, you’re not going to get in because of these test scores?
Estelle
Yeah, definitely. So I went to a small public school where no one really goes to top schools. So my parents saved money and hired college admissions consultant. And she basically told me, like, don’t bother applying, like to Harvard to Yale excetera. And I’ve been like dreaming about Harvard since I was like four years old. And she said, and I was I was at a point where I was thinking of like, eating to Barnard. But like I wanted more. So I even though Barnard is also a great school. So I looked at the US News rankings. And that year, you Chicago was third and I never even heard of them. But I started researching them. And I saw that they super score at the AC t and I saw that they care a lot about your essays and they let you be really creative with your essays. And I thought that this is a place that my actually appreciate me for three like the things that I’m proud of, as opposed to this my scores. So I decided I ed to Chicago, because I thought it was my best bet. Also, I thought that not as many people are eating to Chicago as compared to like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, etc.
Kamila
Right there and we’ve gotten all the classes ICT stuff like that out of the way. Let’s go on to your extracurriculars. So first, let’s go to internships. And then we can talk about if you have anything else that you did as well. So with those internships, can you go you know, one by one and explain what you did there? Like and how, I guess we or what you did there what you learned from there? Yeah,
Estelle
so my first internship at Maine Medical Research Center. Basically I just did hours and hours of research online until I found this place and they didn’t take high school interns, but I contacted one of the researchers and was able to kind of convince him to take me as an intern there. I did a lot of like lab work like centrifuging things and like pipetting things. And it was super cool. And I learned a lot about like human responses to trauma. There was a lot that I didn’t know, obviously, because I was working with even some medical students, but I just knew that I shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions. And I asked, and I asked, and I learned and that it was an amazing experience. And then the next one, it was a program I heard about NASA has this collaboration with local universities in some states, where you can intern with a professor and I interned with a professor studying biological trade offs. Like, organism is good at one thing, so they have to be better than another thing. And then I did some research with that, and long distance runners. And it was around that time also that I was starting to worry about standardized tests. And that professor was just so incredibly supportive. And he would tell me, Oh, you’re so smart. Oh, you’re so capable. And that really made me believe in myself and believe that I could go to a top school, even though my parents maybe didn’t expect that much for me, or like my test scores didn’t seem to be good enough. And then the next one, I’m at a law firm in Boston, it was just a lot of figuring out that I didn’t want to be a lawyer, because everyone had always told me, Oh, you’d be a great lawyer. And I think that I figured out that I wouldn’t be a great lawyer. I’d be a great salesman.
Kamila
And can you tell us again, I mean, I’m a high schooler. My friends are high schoolers as well. And one of the big things that people, at least in my school, because it’s not a top school or anything, but it is quite competitive. So people are looking for internships. Yeah, that’s cool. You don’t know how to do that. Can you tell me? Again, starting from first, second. And third, how you found those internships and how you convince those people? Like, please take me on? Let me learn from you.
Estelle
Yeah. So it was really a matter of a lot of internet research to see what is existing, like hundreds of hours of internet research, reaching out to people to see oh, look, I heard you did an internship, what did you do reaching out to professors like cold emailing them, sorry, you can hear the coffee maker in the background. But, and also pulling on my own network, I was very fortunate that my aunt and uncle are lawyers, and they knew other lawyers, but it was really just kind of being scrappy. And it’s a lot harder than it should be. Which is why now as a college student, I’ve started a company stand up search to help high school students find these opportunities, without all the hassle and the worry and the hundreds of hours of research.
Kamila
And we definitely talk about that when you get to college experience. But let’s go keep going with extracurricular so you did those three internships. What other extracurriculars did you do throughout high school?
Estelle
Yeah, so I ran throughout high school, cross country track, trained every day, blew out my ankles, it’s not worth it. Don’t do that. I also swam. I also founded two student organizations, a philosophy club, and the real facts Club, which was basically the idea of fostering or bipartisan cooperation, cooperation, cooperation and respect at my school. Those were mostly like in the form of a group chat, and we’d meet sometimes, there was also I wrote and published a science fiction novel online. I also published a short story in a literary magazine. I didn’t have a lot of friends I just kind of worked constantly.
Kamila
Okay, well, users throughout a lot of impressive stuff me. Let’s start with the sports. So did you do those sports like all four years? What level did you make it to with both track field and cross country and swimming?
Estelle
I mean, I was varsity in running swimming. I sang like a log. And I was like team captain, at one point MVP, but I was never like that great of a runner. It didn’t really help me at all. I think that it helps me personally build discipline and perseverance. Like I think running is a great mental exercise. But looking back, I wish that I’d focus more on doing things that are unique to me and my professional aspirations and exploring more careers and creating things. Well,
Kamila
me You ended up at a good place anyway, so you did it right. Okay. And you were stood. I mean, you published a novel in a short story.
Estelle
Yeah, I published a science fiction novel, online. Honestly, it’s a bad novel. It’s an awful book. Like, if you read it, you’d like you just die laughing. But if you publish something online, like if you take the time to like, write a 300 page novel, like, it sounds impressive, like pro tip. Um, and there’s this thing called the New England Young Writers Conference that teachers nominate you for. And every school in New England, I think, has to nominate one person. And I was the only person who really did a lot of writing. So they just nominated me. And while I was there, I really was obsessed with the idea of trying to get my book published, to stand out to top universities. And I saw this guy who worked for a publishing company, and I just kind of ran after him and asked him to lunch and told him that I really need to publish this novel. And he said, like, that’s basically impossible. And I said, Okay, what can I publish? And he says, Oh, I run a literary magazine, maybe you can try to publish a short story in it. So I think you’ve published it just to kind of get away from me. But that’s, that’s a good life tactic, like run after people never be afraid to do that.
Kamila
That is some very, very impressive. Wow, what so you have so many interests you, you know, you don’t want to be like, something in medicine, you like a doctor, you don’t want to be a lawyer. But beyond that, did you know what you wanted to do?
Estelle
I thought I wanted to write the great American novel, I thought I’d be like Fitzgerald, and I’d like go to Princeton, and then brood and be cool, and then write my novel and make a lot of money. But then, when I actually got to Chicago, I realized that creative writing is like any type of art ultimately comes down to connections and money. And it’s just not a very viable career path unless you make your money and your connections first.
Kamila
Okay, I see that I see there. And you did say you found it to student organizations. Were these part of your school?
Estelle
Yeah, they were a part of my school. Yeah, the philosophy club were really it was just like, like a 100 person Group Chat, where once a week, I’d be like, What is the meaning of life? Is a hot dog sandwich. You know, like, like those questions that plague
Kamila
essay prompt you Chicago uses is a hot dog sandwich.
Estelle
Those do sound like you Chicago essay prompts, which is why I was so excited when I discovered you Chicago essay prompts, because I’ve never even been to Chicago, but I just got this feeling. And And before that, I always thought like, if I don’t go to Harvard, I’m gonna die. I’m just gonna drop dead. But then I found myself eating to you faraway University in a city I’d never been to, because it just felt right. And it still feels right.
Kamila
That’s great. Do you have any other extracurriculars that you want to mention?
Estelle
Nope. That was that was pretty much it. I was busy.
Kamila
Okay, it’s okay. And I guess we have two more aspects before we go into, you know, schools and such. So number one is recommendation letters are like the same thing we’ve been doing. How did you? When did you start? How did you approach it? And then, you know, ultimately, who did you get them from? And if you could give some advice on getting recommendation letters.
Estelle
So um, I had to do like one teacher, because like, that’s mandatory. And honestly choose, the teacher who’s the best writer and write it for them is what I’ll tell you, like, sit down and write a list of all the things you are proud of that relate to that person that you did in that class, or that teacher would have seen, like, make it clear to them how you’re selling yourself. And ultimately, no one will be insulted by that just like phrase it as like, hi, Mr. Smith. This is some information about me to help you along. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help and they will genuinely appreciate that. But my biggest most important recommendation letters came from the people I did internships with, because those proved that I can show up and I can do the work and I can learn in the real world. It doesn’t matter what numbers I have on an exam like this is what I’m capable of. And that was what I felt most confident about when I was applying those recommendation letters.
Kamila
Now we move on to one of my favorite things about you Chicago specifically, which is our essay prompts, because I visited it again it was my first time ever hearing about you Chicago when I visited there a couple years ago. their essay prompts it was like so interesting. What would you do with like a gallon of mayonnaise or something? And then that one I think was one of them is a hot dog sandwich. So, first, let’s go through the common app essay you wrote. But then let’s get on to like the supplementals for you, Chicago. So common app essay, what did you focus it on? And how did you approach it?
Estelle
Yeah, so I come from kind of a unique family and that my grandmother has dementia, and she lives with my family. And my parents worked in the next in Boston, so like two states over so I spent a lot of time taking care of her, and, or just like being there and watching her. And it made me very kind of aware of my own mortality in a way. And it made me think a lot about what how, what, how life is kind of precious, and like, what do I want to do with my life? And I wrote about that, and the conviction that I had, that I wanted to make the most out of my life and contribute as much as possible to others. And that going to a university like the University of Chicago would allow me to do that.
Kamila
Was it hard fighting an essay prompt? Or did you automatically know like, this is what I want to write about?
Estelle
I think I started out writing something dumb about running. And then I realized that was not the move.
Kamila
Okay, and with your essays, because you did mention earlier how you did want to shine through your essays and your extracurriculars? Yeah. I forgot my question.
Estelle
Essays and extracurriculars. You Chicago essay.
Kamila
Yeah. Let’s just move on to those submittals. I had another question about coming up, but I don’t remember. Okay, so supplementals. Now. It’s what were the supplementals you had for you, Chicago? And what was your approach? Because with those kinds of essay prompts, you don’t know whether you want to be funny, or like serious. So what were they? And then how did you What did you write for those prompts.
Estelle
I wanted to write something that would just create emotion. And anyone who read it, I wanted to write something that was like a good joke, or a good movie, that I could read aloud to the class and not even care if it was embarrassing, because it was fun. And the problem that I chose was, tell me about something vestigial that you still use. So basically, something that is anachronism, and I wrote about my baby word, which was meep, from like watching the Muppets. And I wrote about how, like, when I was little, all I would say was weep. And then, throughout my life, I’ve still found ways to save me. Like, if you’re in a car, and some drunk person is erratically driving it, like you grab the handle, and like you can, like, meet. Like, it’s just like something that you say like with the people, you’re close to like to make them laugh. And I wrote about how kind of everyone has something like that, like some, like call back to childhood intimacy. And it was mostly just like a fun lackey type of essay, something that I enjoyed reading, and I wanted to reach other people.
Kamila
Were there any other essay prompts like supplemental essays for you, Chicago?
Estelle
Yeah. And for those, I just, I said that I wanted to be a writer. And I researched the creative writing department there a lot. And I cited, I said, this is my goal as a writer, and this is how each of these programs that are at you, Chicago, and are just at you, Chicago, are necessary to reach that goal. It was very much like an argumentative essay.
Kamila
And with applying to you, Chicago, I don’t know if there are any other universities don’t have quite as unique essay prompts. But when you’re applying, and you get such essay prompts, they’re, you know, wacky, and they’re not they’re out of the ordinary. What advice would you give for people who like don’t know what to do, like, they don’t know what to write, how to approach it, what the admissions officers are expecting.
Estelle
I think that the best advice I’ve been given is that you’ll know if a school is a good fit for you if you enjoy answering the questions. And if you’re excited answering the questions, and I think, try to read through the questions and figure out is this like, is this a good question for me to answer like, is this a good school for me and then just like read the questions early and don’t have any pressure to write about it, write that and like go take a shower, think about it in the shower, think about it, like on your while you’re walking your dog and see if you enjoy thinking about it.
Kamila
Okay, good advice there. So, you’ve already kind of mentioned why you chose you, Chicago, and then have a question. Why did you apply Edie? That’s that’s binding right? Were you like that sure about you, Chicago.
Estelle
I mean, I never even been there. No one in my community had ever even heard of it. I just wanted to get into the best school possible to have the best resources available to me. And I looked at US News, and I looked at you Chicago’s admissions and I thought, it’s you Chicago, and I just stuck to my guns.
Kamila
And can you tell us about when you open the acceptance letter? What did say how did you how did you react to that?
Estelle
I was so relieved. I was just ready to be done with applying to colleges. And I was so excited to go and live somewhere else for the first time.
Kamila
So let’s get on to college experience. Again, you Chicago is a new, completely new city you so you had not met you Chicago, Chicago’s new city, you Chicago’s new place for you. So coming in. Were you really nervous? Were you excited? Did you have anybody there? Did you meet anyone over the summer potentially? Or did you just come in like, complete complete stranger to the Chicago campus.
Estelle
I met someone over the summer, who I was close friends with for a while, but then she kind of disappeared. The people who you met early or meet early on tend to be fairly fleeting. But yeah, it was completely new. I showed up for my first day of pre orientation. And without against, without knowing, I was asked out by the son of a very famous celebrity. And I just didn’t know. And everyone started being really weird around me because of that. And then I found out and it was just this whole insane experience coming from a tiny town in May. And it was it was terrifying. And that fizzled out, but not really an attention seeking person. And eventually, I started forming relationships with the people who kind of would be my family away from home. And it’s hard and it’s lonely at first, but you just have to focus on what you want and building a life for yourself and believe in yourself, which sounds cheesy, but
Kamila
yeah, you got asked out by the son of a celebrity. Yeah. What do you know which celebrity?
Estelle
I’d rather not say? Taxes privacy?
Kamila
reorientation, you get asked out by celebrity son, wow. Okay. So I want to get through like, I guess some, I would say, some facts about you, Chicago before we get specifically into your experience. So tell us about you Chicago as a school, you know, what are they really well known for? What programs do they like have? I don’t know the best professors out or something? And you know, what is you Chicago campus? What does it look like? Is it pretty ugly? What is there to do around you? Chicago? So tell me like all about that.
Estelle
Yeah, so where to start. Chicago is known for economics, especially kind of more conservative economics, Milton Friedman, that kind of jazz. Um, I almost feel Everyone here does economics and something. It’s a big culture of double majoring. Honestly, I don’t want to say this. But coming to Chicago and not at least somewhat immersing yourself and economics, it’s kind of like going to a steak house and ordering a salad. And with the quarter system, it moves super fast, but it gives you a lot of room to double major. The campus is so beautiful, and it looks like Oxford or Cambridge because they chose stones that would look old really quickly. Um, the buildings are just so big and imposing but I think they make you feel important, which is exciting. And you’re just 20 minutes in an Uber away from downtown and amazing restaurants and this beautiful architecture. And it’s like compared to some other cities, it’s a bit less expensive to partake in all of that which is why it’s a great place to be when you’re young.
Kamila
I mean, I absolutely love Chicago when I went there just the most beautiful, most beautiful city in the world but was just so amazing. You know, New York is kind of I don’t know it’s like stinky when I go there smell salon but when I went to Chicago so clean and nice.
Estelle
You walk outside the best restaurant in New York City and you see a pile of garbage
Kamila
Yeah, but you Chicago and it has like as you know modern buildings that are like you know, glass and so contemporary buildings, but then you have the clock tower. So it has like some older architecture, which is really nice.
Estelle
Yeah, we have a castle. Like it’s just like a castle like a huge Castle that’s our library.
Kamila
Yeah, it was an aerated one of like the most beautiful libraries. Probably. Yeah. Have you have you studied there? Do you study there a
Estelle
lot? Yeah, but it’s just such a big cavernous room and room sound travels really easily. So like, if you sneeze 100 People will hear you sneeze. If your phone goes off, like 100 people are reaching for their phone, like who called me. Okay, so
Kamila
let’s get back to coming to you, Chicago. So tell me how did you make friends? You said you didn’t really know many people there. So coming in, how did you make friends? How was your first semester basically, in terms of classes that you need to change from high school to college? How did it all go for you the first semester,
Estelle
I found that I started out with a group certain group of friends and those friendships kind of fizzled out, and were replaced by like, you kind of start with a group of people and some of them stay and some of them go. And you kind of figure out who your stronger relationships are over the course of that first year, which can be challenging. I just really focused a lot on school because coming from such a small town where it’s pretty easy to do well in school, I was really afraid that I was just gonna fail when I got there. So I worked really hard. And honestly, I figured out that most of doing well in college, it’s just kind of showing up, like get your essay done early enough to show it to the TA and see if there’s anything wrong with it. Like start studying a few weeks in advance, go to office hours Ask the Professor like what’s going to be on the exam?
Kamila
And can you tell us about we’ll go to classes cuz that’s obviously a very interesting thing. But number one dorms Can you give us a quick I guess spiel on dorms? How are the dorms that you Chicago?
Estelle
I was in let’s suppose to be the worst dorm I have very far away from campus. I ate like crap. Um, but I perpetually lost weight because I was blocking so much. But I mean, it was living in a castle surrounded by a lot of other people my own age. I mean, of course, like you’re sharing a bathroom, etc. But for me, I love to being in that environment surrounded by people, like you wake up in the middle of the night and you’re hearing like people like doing things and maybe some people would be like, Oh my God, I don’t want but I mean, I basically grew up in the woods. If I heard something in the middle of the night, it’s like, a bear eating a moose, you know? Okay, okay,
Kamila
how about the food situation that you Chicago.
Estelle
I hated the food. I hated the food. I mean, I really didn’t like it. Because yours some of my friends who have dined in like a lot of amazing restaurants still liked it. But for me, I ate a lot of French fries and cereal.
Kamila
Because when I went to Chicago, we did the information session. And then we had a tour guy. He talked about some sort of grilled cheese station that he really liked. And then some like other things that happen weekly at Chicago. It’s very interesting there.
Estelle
Um, I mean, I think I’m just picky. Like, there’s certainly things to eat for. I mean, I like you can eat ice cream, like the ice cream is good. The pizza is decent. So it’s just all in preference. Yeah, it’s it’s all on preference. Like, I promise you, you won’t starve. But Bartlett is the worst dining hall though. Bartlett. Bartlett.
Kamila
Good to note there. So let’s go on to classes that you Chicago coming in? Was it just like Gen Ed stuff that you were completing? You didn’t really think about? Major, you’re just completing your general education requirements?
Estelle
Yeah, the core takes up a lot of your time that you Chicago, it takes up pretty much your whole first year. I’m a junior, and I just finished in the spring, my last core requirement.
Kamila
And coming into college, can you tell us about the sort of I guess we could say transition from high school classes to college? Like, what what was the difference there? Because I it’s not an easy transition. I’ve interviewed enough people to know that. And each person has a different reason as to why they struggled their first semester, their first year. So can you share your story on how that transition was for you?
Estelle
Yeah, so things move a lot faster, and there’s a lot less hand holding. So you have to be disciplined about studying. You have to make sure you ask questions. Make sure you go to office hours, make sure that you’re disciplined with your time management and you get things done quickly enough to be able to like ask the TA like, did I do this right? Also, into when it comes to any professor you’re writing an essay for they all have different ideas of how you’re supposed to write an essay. So before you write your first essay, sit down with the professor and ask them how to write a good essay. But also, ultimately, I think with any type of project or any type of essay, like as long as you get it done as soon enough, you can figure out exactly what’s wrong with it and bring it up to an AI.
Kamila
Okay, sounds good there. And can you tell me about you do major in economics and creative writing? So after you, I guess, completed your Gen Ed requirements? How did you arrive upon your majors?
Estelle
Economics because all the other kids were doing it. And I didn’t want to be poor. And creative writing because it was what I love doing. But eventually through the economics major. I actually applied to this program, or I could take classes at the Booth School of Business, and
Kamila
which is kind of different, like,
Estelle
yeah, the Booth School of Business is you Chicago’s MBA program. Forbes actually ranks them, like the top MBA right now, which is pretty cool. But yeah, while I was taking classes there, I discovered entrepreneurship. And it just kind of clicked for me that entrepreneurs are like writers, except the things they create actually exist in the real world. So after that, I was hooked. And economics became the more interesting thing for me.
Kamila
I have a question, how are you able to take classes at the MBA school, which is a postgraduate thing, how are you able to do that?
Estelle
I got into this special program called the deacon Scholars Program, which they’re actually unfortunately discontinuing. But basically the program allows you to take 300 level like graduate classes with graduate students.
Kamila
That’s interesting. So it’s it does it like countered your degree? Does it show up any or anything?
Estelle
So I’m a Business Economics major. So I’m like, a few of them counted towards my degree, the thing that you have to understand is that you Chicago created a business economics major, where some booth professors would teach undergraduate level classes for that major, which is why they phased out the program where you’re taking classes actually. It’s confusing. It’s fine,
Kamila
it’s fine. Okay, and now I want to talk about your internships, and then your organization. So you interned at two venture capitalist firms. Okay, that sounds so interesting. Can you tell us about was you Chicago part of like helping you find an internship? And then where were these internships? And you know, what did you do in them as well?
Estelle
Yeah. So the first one was kind of nepotism. My father worked at a startup. And it was in the portfolio of this venture capital firm. And my father said, Hi, like to his boss, my daughter is a student at U Chicago. And at that point, I had a 4.0 GPA, which is for mostly creative writing major. And they were impressed by that. And they interviewed me and I got a job. They’re at point 406 ventures in Boston, which was an incredible experience, I got to talk to all of these founders and figure out those are the people who I want to be. And after that, I applied through through Chicago to another VC firm in Boston, New stack ventures. And because I already had the experience from point four, six, it wasn’t too difficult to get that job. And I stayed there for a month before going back to play pro six for a fellowship, where they would help me start my company.
Kamila
And can you tell me about a little bit about how you Chicago helped you find your second internship does U Chicago have some special program advisors to help students with this stuff?
Estelle
They definitely have advisors, which can be really helpful. They also just have newsletters with tons and tons of internships. Also, the university will provide grants for pretty much any unpaid internship you find.
Kamila
screen and did you get a grant for the for the second internship?
Estelle
Um, yeah, I got I’ve had a grant every summer that I’ve been at UChicago
Kamila
puts great and let’s go on to your organization. So I’ll let you take it from here. Can you tell us about it, you know, how did you find it? And then where are you guys right now?
Estelle
Yeah, so I started it while I was working at point 406 ventures, and we are a startup called standout search. We help high school students find internships and other resume building opportunities. So we’re about a year in and we started out working with a school In New York, we found 150 opportunities for their students, placing them in venture capital in wealth management, at startups, at top universities, at clubs at top universities, lots of really cool opportunities that we were able to kind of leverage throughout connections. And right now we’re transitioning towards working with individual students and families to match them with opportunities. So if anyone listening is curious, or is looking for a summer internship or school, your internship opportunity, feel free to shoot me an email, I can give you all my email.
Kamila
Yeah, you can email me your email, and I’ll put the link to because I did visit your site, I’ll put the link to that down below as well. And the settings you can call description box. So one thing I want to ask for high schoolers seeking internships, like what would you recommend, they’ve tried to find, especially if the student doesn’t know what they want to do, what would you recommend they do to find an internship for themselves.
Estelle
So start by thinking about one potential career option that you might consider, because it’s a good thing too, if you’re able to eliminate it, because at least you’ve gotten a little bit closer to figuring it out. So figure out the first field that you’re gonna try to look at. And then see if there’s anyone within your personal network who works in that field. If not, then just go online and search for existing opportunities in that field. And try to find the kind of like small time firms and like small business owners within that field, or professors, just people who have autonomy over their own time and what they do, and send them cold emails, and you’ll get rejected again and again, but keep going. And it’s a hard process. But it’s so so worth it. Also, startups are always a good place to
Kamila
look. So just like going on the internet and searching in your area.
Estelle
Searching in your area, there are a lot of places nowadays that will also do a virtual internship. So if there’s a, say a small law firm in a faraway city, you can say, like I’ll work for you virtually just send me the files. Also, if you start by offering to do a small task, as opposed to asking them for an internship, they’re more likely to accept and then you can kind of leverage that into an internship.
Kamila
That’s very good advice there, obviously, listen to that. And I have one more thing I’m curious about before we wrap up here. Are you planning to get a postgraduate degree? Once you finish up undergraduate?
Estelle
Yes, actually, I just applied to the deferral program for you, Chicago Booth, and I got in, basically, thank you, thank you. Basically, what it means is, within the next five years, I can go to booth at any time, if I go within the next two years, then I only have to do one year, and I can save half my tuition. And you Chicago has a really cool thing where if you’ve taken six booth classes, either at the undergraduate or the graduate level by the time you graduate, then you don’t have to take the GMAT in order to apply to booth, which was amazing for me and my standardized testing skills.
Kamila
That’s great. Congratulations there. And I guess a couple more things. So why would you what would you recommend? Like? How would you say this? Why would you recommend you Chicago to a high school student who’s thinking about where to apply? You know, what, what is the thing about you Chicago that I guess other universities don’t offer? Or what is the reason that a student should come to Chicago? From your perspective, obviously,
Estelle
I think that we have the best economics department and resources in the country. I’m biased though. I think that we also have such access to booth, which is really unique. If you’re a business minded student, we have complete access to downtown. It’s just a hop, skip and a jump in a way. We like incredible restaurants, incredible bars. It’s very easy to spend a day in the city, but also to have the comfort of the campus and to be able to sit in line the grass in a beautiful place surrounded by beautiful buildings. You have the lake which is right there. If you’re someone like me, who has all this grown up by the ocean, I really can’t say enough good things. But ultimately, it actually challenges you to figure out who you are and to find new ways of learning and pushing yourself in order to succeed, which I find really rewarding.
Kamila
Have you heard? Or have you been to this restaurant? It’s not in Chicago. It’s near the huge club campus called Soul tacos.
Estelle
Yes, yes, Soul taco is very, very big here. Everyone loves soul taco.
Kamila
I went there. When I visited right after my tour. It was the most incredible combination I’ve ever had in my life.
Estelle
Yeah, so tacos. Definitely a good reason to come here.
Kamila
Okay, so last thing is, I guess advice. So in this, I do this with everybody, what is one piece of advice you would give to high schoolers right now. And you can if you want, you can give advice to someone who has, you know, dyslexia or ADHD or struggles with standardized testing. And they still want to aim for these schools, but they don’t know if they can like get in. So you can give advice to that, or just high school students in general. And then another piece of advice for college students, as well.
Estelle
So I’d say the biggest piece of advice coming from me is do an internship in high school in a field that interests you. Because if you’re a student like me, and you struggle with standardized tests, this is a way that you can prove that when it comes to the real world, you can hold your own. And also, if you come to college having at least some idea or like a better idea of if you actually want to go into the field you’re interested in. Or if you know that you don’t want to go into the field you thought you were interested in, you will save yourself a lot of time and a lot of hassle. I was very fortunate that I didn’t have to take gen chem, for example. So definitely pull your resources, try to do an internship, I avoid some of those summer programs given out by universities, because I’ve talked to College Admissions Consultants and admissions people and they really don’t help you get into that school. Also, if I’m Stanford, and I see that you did a Harvard summer camp, I’m going to be maybe a little jealous, I’m going to feel like I’m not your first choice. So that’s for high scores for college students. What I’d say is that right now, I noticed the best and brightest people all going after the same industries, like they’re most of them are going after consulting and finance. Some people are going after law, some people are going after medicine. But what I’d say is that this is the time in your life, to take risks, and to find your own niche in the world, something that you enjoy, and that you can be really good at. And you should really try it to find that thing. And if that thing is finance or consulting, then like, that’s great. Like, go go for it, do it. But don’t be so scared of the world Find. Find your thing.
Kamila
That’s very deep, and it’s very true. Thank you very much for coming on. Estelle. Thank you so much. Thank you. Bye. Bye. Have a good one. That’s it for my interview with Estelle. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you subscribe. Make sure to check out Estelle’s organization stand out search. I left a link to her website and her email down below. Next week I’ll be releasing an interview with Dr. Schrock Amasian of chalazion academic counseling. He specializes in elite school admissions and medical school admissions. You do not want to miss that and I hope to see you then.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai